Ever been in a situation where you need something badly but were too blind to notice? It happened to me in November when I was busy hiding under my bed covers, trying to avoid all the implications of the election results. A lovely person, similarly struggling, reached out and asked me to give a presentation on how to get through the next four years. I couldn’t help but laugh. My dream of cocooning myself in a land of despair and nearly buried alive with cat hair (kitty really likes to spoon under the covers) was not an option. I was being called to get up, square my shoulders, and figure out how to move forward with integrity. The Dalai Lama’s words came into my head, “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”
Wise enough to know I need guidance from great thinkers, I am delighted by all I have found that speak to the challenges we face in stormy times as well as ways to be strong. I have revisited Viktor Frankl’s fundamental work after the holocaust, Man’s Search For Meaning, Rabbi Simon Jacobson and his incredible series on how to find renewal in times of destruction, theologian Richard Rhohr in his book, Hope Against the Darkness, Buddhist scholar Pema Chodron’s works, as well as my contemporary colleagues. Through the process, I’m delighted to report that I find myself more realistic, less reactive, and grounded. My conversations with others no longer sound like venting sessions but rather thoughtful reflections.
I invite you to join me on a journey, exploring how we can show up well for ourselves, our neighbors, and the greater world. I will be summarizing themes on “what to do”; the “how” will be something we discover along the way. Welcome fellow travelers!
A woman is like a tea bag. You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. -Eleanor Roosevelt
This is not for the sake of mortal purity; it is for the sake of a future. -Richard Rhohr
…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are. -Pema Chodron